A new coach taking over a bottom-tier team has a year to install and instill. It's all about the transition, both functional and spiritual, from the prior regime. Stunning results aren't usually expected on the record ledger.

Patrick Chambers delivered in 2011-12. His Penn State Nittany Lions competed at a high level nearly every time out. About halfway through the season you could also see them begin to grasp what their coach wanted from a schematic standpoint. They looked more effective and efficient running sets and defending together, even if the results weren't always there.

But beginning this year, Chambers will want to start seeing those results. Specifically, he needs his guys to start producing points more efficiently. That's another way of saying: Hit some damn shots.

Someone will be alongside senior point guard Tim Frazier to help him advance the ball into scoring situations. Philadelphia product D.J. Newbill is now eligible to continue a career that began in 2010-11 at Southern Mississippi. He spent last year practicing with PSU after his transfer to Penn State but could not suit up, per NCAA transfer rules. At 6-4 and quick afoot, Newbill is slick with the handle and able to pierce the lane and draw help defenders.

We know All-America candidate Frazier is fully capable of that as well as scoring himself; the Big Ten first-team lead guard ranked first in assists and second in points in the league last year.

So, there should be open shots delivered for people the defense believes can't hit them. Consider the upside, then, if one or two teammates, actually can.

That's the equation for Penn State men's basketball this season. Frazier and probably Newbill are given values. To find the product of an average offensive night, the only question is the value of the main variables. X=Jermaine Marshall. Y=Ross Travis. Depending on what numbers we plug in, that product could vary wildly.

Marshall had his moments in Penn State's 12-20, 4-12 season. He defended pretty well. He drew fouls and made his free throws. He played substantial minutes.

And he jacked up a team-high 132 treys. Now, all the Etters native has to do is make 6-to-10 percent more of them; .326 from the arc isn't quite getting it done.

And Travis was the poster boy for this team in Chambers' first year. His toughness and board work as a freshman were exemplary. Nothing about him was pretty.

Including his shooting from anywhere outside 10 feet. At 6-8, the sophomore is said to have worked hard on his medium-range and outside shot. The 4-of-24 trey shooter of last year (.167) is allegedly a thing of the past.

“That kid is one of the most valuable players on this team,” said Chambers yesterday at Penn State media day. “He can play [positions] 1 through 5. He has great feet. In practice, he's shooting the ball at a really high clip.

“He is critical to a lot of things we're doing here. We're going to need him to play at a really high level and he is. I feel like he's gonna have a big-time year, a really break-out year.”

That would be a great asset. Because the facts are these: Somebody other than the backcourt must contribute consistent points and do it from a different locale on the court or Penn State won't venture far from the Big Ten basement.

This is called floor balance. And Chambers' mutts (everyone but Newbill and Frazier) can race around and sweat and grind all game. But if the Lions don't establish three or four different guys who can score from different parts of the floor, they are doomed to bring up the rear again of a conference that I don't think has ever been tougher.

The opener against St. Francis at the Jordan Center on Friday night may not conclusively answer any of these questions but two subsequent games against a very good North Carolina State team in Puerto Rico (Nov. 15) and then against a loaded Bucknell outfit (Nov. 23, the Friday after Thanksgiving) just might.

If the Lions can hit some threes against these two legit sides, it would indicate they can do so against Big Ten-caliber competition, too. And that's the key to opening up all sorts of routes to the bucket from which Newbill and Frazier can create chaos among enemy defenses.

“I wouldn't say it's pivotal,” said Chambers of better outside shooting. “But we need it. We gotta be able to make shots. We definitely have to make more threes.”

The Lions' .298 team 3-point percentage in league games was 11th in the Big Ten and their .311 overall trey percentage was 298th of 345 D-I teams.

As Chambers then pointed out, the Nits weren't bad on the cushy rims of the Jordan Center but fared not nearly so well in hostile venues. Which went a long way toward their 0-fer on the road in the Big Ten. Penn State's only true road win was at Boston College, the worst team in the ACC.

Marshall's status against St. Francis for his usual substantial playing time is in some question. He tweaked a hamstring in the Lions' blowout exhibition win over Philadelphia University on Saturday and was held out much of the latter stages.

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